The Bottle Forest A 40 bar Strathspey for 3 couples in a 4 couple longwise set

1 - 4 First couple turn by the right hand and cast off one place, second couple move up on bars 3-4.
5 - 8 First couple turn by the left hand and cast off one place.
9 - 16 First couple dance down for two steps, half turn with two hands to face up, then dance up with nearer hands joined to between second couple and face them, first couple back to back with first lady facing second man and first man facing second lady.
17 - 24 First and second couples dance a reel of four across the dance, first couple finish by crossing down to second place on opposite sides facing out, first lady passing in front of her partner on bar 24.
25 - 32 Second, first and third couples dance reels of three on the sides, first lady giving left shoulder to third man and first man giving right shoulder to third lady to start.
33 - 34 First lady and third man half turn with the left hand while first man and third lady half turn with the right hand.
35 - 36 First couple cross up to second place while third couple dance into third place.
37 - 40 First lady turns second lady with the left hand, while first man turns second man with the right hand.
Repeat having passed a couple.

(Dance Crib compiled by the deviser, Brian Charlton, 1993)

Dance Information

Bottle Forest was the original name for the parish of Heathcote, where the dance composer lived when the dance was devised. It was named by the first surveyor in the area when he found a bottle lodged in the fork of a tree.
Dance Information by the deviser, Brian Charlton.